The investigation of relationship between rural settlement density, size, spatial distribution and its geophysical parameters of China using Landsat TM images

a b s t r a c t This study investigates the rural settlement density, size, and spatial distribution in China using land use vector maps extracted from Landsat TM images. The patch density (PD), mean patch size (MPS), standard deviation of patch size (SD), Euclidian mean nearest neighbor distance (MNN), and area weighted mean patch fractal dimension (AWMPFD) were calculated by GIS software to measure the characteristics of about 7.56 × 10 5 rural settlements. The results indicate that rural residential settlements in China were small with MPS of only 16.27 ha, and more than half of them were below 10 ha. China is divided into seven regions and the regional disparity is investigated across the seven regions, as well as within each region. The relationship between PD and digital elevation model (DEM), annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation was investigated at the two levels. While DEM had a negative impact on PD, the annual mean temperature and precipitation had a mixed impact on the PD. In Northeastern China, North China Plain, Middle and Lower Yangtze River Plain, Inner Mongolia Plateau, Loess Plateau, and Southwestern China, the annual mean temperature had a strong positive impact on PD, but in the Southeastern China, no apparent correlation was found. While a significantly positive correlation between PD and annual mean precipitation was found in Inner Mongolia Plateau and Loess Plateau, a negative relation was found in Southeastern China and Southwestern China, and no obvious relationship found between them in Northeastern China, North China Plain, Middle and Lower Yangtze River Plain. In Northwestern China and Tibet Plateau, there was no apparent relationship between PD and annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation. The results also demonstrate that annual mean temperature and annual mean precipitation did not have as much impact on MPS of rural settlements as topography and DEM. Rural settlements are impacted more by the topography and climatic parameters than are urban areas, as rural populations are more dependent on agriculture. The relationship between rural settlements and climatic parameters reflects the climatic impact on human living environment and food availability and productivity.